


An Unexpected Betrothal

by Cartadwarfwithaheartofgold (manka)



Series: Black Emporium 2020 [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Courtship, Engagement, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Post-Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser DLC, Romantic Fluff, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26284540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manka/pseuds/Cartadwarfwithaheartofgold
Summary: Reese Cadash accompanies her girlfriend to chaperone her younger sister on a date with a potential suitor. It... goes less than smoothly, but ends with a sweet surprise.
Relationships: Female Cadash/Josephine Montilyet, Female Inquisitor/Josephine Montilyet
Series: Black Emporium 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924909
Comments: 19
Kudos: 42
Collections: Black Emporium 2020





	An Unexpected Betrothal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tevivinter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tevivinter/gifts).



> Thank you to my wonderful betas and lovely friends <3 I would be crazy without you. I'd like to specifically thank: 
> 
> [Blarfkey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blarfkey/pseuds/blarfkey)  
> [LostinFantasies38](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lostinfantasies38/pseuds/Lostinfantasies38)  
> [Toshi_Nama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toshi_Nama/pseuds/Toshi_Nama)  
> [TheRareFereldanCatLord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRareFereldanCatLord/pseuds/TheRareFereldanCatLord)  
> [Coryfirelion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coryfirelion)  
> [Tuffypelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuffypelly)
> 
> You all beta'd and supported me for different fics in the Exchange for me and I cannot remember who did what SO just let it be known I appreciate all of you for your love and support.

The docks glittered just like Josephine always promised they would.

Reese Cadash, used to the shadows she’d been raised in, almost found it blinding. Colored lanterns dangled above her head, stung from pole to pole. People flowed out of cafes and galleries in a rainbow of brightly colored silk and musical chatter.

If anyone was out of place, truly, it was Reese herself. No matter how long she lived in Antiva, she couldn’t bring herself to choose the same jewel tones everyone else favored. Josephine had accepted that long ago, and the bulk of Reese’s wardrobe was made of dark crimsons, mossy greens, and her go-to, black as pitch. The same coal color as her hair and her eyes.

Although it was a semi-special occasion, so when Josephine laid out the black silk jacket with the impractical decorative gold braids decorating it, Reese took her marching orders with good grace. She’d worn more ridiculous things as Inquisitor for Josephine Montiliyet, after all. Once there’d been a dress that looked like a cake, which was still better than the corset Josie tried to talk her into.

She’d leave those frilly, beautiful things for Josephine. The woman at her elbow shimmered in turquoise and gold, drawing stares from everyone. Reese couldn’t blame them, she too kept shooting her girlfriend awed looks from beneath her lashes at every single opportunity. She took the chance again and frowned at the anxiety fluttering over her lover’s face.

Josephine’s eyes were on the couple in front of them, examining the situation critically. Reese followed her gaze and strangled her laugh, but only just.

Oh, she’d _told_ Josie when this whole farce started it was going to be a disaster.

Yvette Montiliyet was being courted by a _suitor_. Reese, of course, needed that explained to her. She’d never been courted by anyone in the Carta, for several reasons. First, who courted a Carta rat, no matter _who_ her father was? Second, the Dasher was never gonna let Reese out of his orbit long enough to take up with _anyone_.

Her father, the infamous Dasher, was probably _still_ screaming about her abandonment somewhere in the Free Marches. That suited Reese just fine. Still, she could just imagine Josephine’s father approaching the Dasher the way _this_ young man’s dad had approached Josephine. It would certainly have been something to watch.

“It’s not going well.” Josephine fretted.

That was the understatement of the age. Brilliant, chatty Yvette dragged her beau over to another display of art. Sculptures, this time. She pointed to the face and began to babble, excited.

“Isn’t the technique magnificent? The artist uses a slow method to dry the plaster, leading to the development of these crinkles at their eyes. It looks as if she is truly smiling, yes?”

The man looked away from the ocean and back at Yvette before his bored gaze landed on the sculpture. Reese watched the nobleman try, and fail, to find something somewhat intelligent or enthusiastic to say. Instead, he landed on the same thing he’d been saying all night.

“And how much does this one cost?”

Yvette wilted. The pleading look she aimed over her foolhardy date’s shoulder didn’t land on Josephine though, but squarely on Reese’s dwarven frame in a cry for help that was hard to ignore.

And Yvette was family now. Yvette. Josie. All the Montiliyets. She’d chosen a name for herself, a lover, and a _life_ out of the grubby reach of her birth family. And if Yvette was family… well, she could certainly do better than the nob she was currently stuck with.

“Can I advise a strategic retreat, Josie?” Reese wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I’m all about… whatever your family’s gotta do, I guess. But we’re not seriously thinkin’ this is gonna end in wedding bells?”

“No. He is quite unsuitable.” Josephine’s clipped done and flashing eyes were the only evidence of her ire.

“Then let’s call this a bad job and take Yvette for a drink.” Reese cajoled.

Nobody else could talk Josie out of work like Reese could, it was really a point of pride. Of course the polite, noble thing to do would be force Yvette to carry on the whole evening so as not to offend. The thought of that, however, was enough to make Reese a little ill.

And Josephine loved nobody as much as she loved her family. All it took was that little push from Reese, that permission to be a little less than perfect, and Josephine was nodding.

“Well, perhaps she’s earned a break. She’s tried her best.”

Reese adopted the most innocent face she could, one worthy of the blighted Andraste herself that kept following her like a bad smell. “She’s done great. I’m proud of her.”

“You are always on her side!” Josephine accused.

“I really _do_ think she’s done great.” Reese defended. “I’d have stabbed him an hour ago.”

“Thank the Maker she is unarmed.”

Reese didn’t whisk the guilt away from her expression quickly enough. Her lover’s eyes widened. “Mi amor, you cannot _possibly_ be telling me you armed my sister?”

“It’s just a little knife, Josie. Hardly good for anything except cutting cheese.”

Josephine tried to look stern, she really did, but Reese saw her lips twitch with affection. Heard the fondness in every syllable. “You are a terrible influence.”

“I keep telling you I’m a scoundrel. You just won’t believe it.”

“It is _most_ untrue!” Josephine protested.

Much to Reese’s delight, she could see her winding up for a lecture on all of Reese’s perceived virtues, of which Josie could list many. Reese wasn’t sure how much of it was true, but she loved to listen to Josie go on.

Nobody else had ever loved her like Josephine did. Fully. Completely. _Passionately_.

Of course, they had to be interrupted at that specific moment. From the table next to them, a figure leaned forward. “Excuse me, Lady Montiliyet? I am sorry we haven’t yet been properly introduced, it is a wonder to see you out! My name is Ser Peregrine Montfort...”

Josephine turned on her sparkle and charm immediately. “Ser Peregrine! Yes, I received your letter! It’s a pleasant surprise to find you here.”

It wouldn’t be a coincidence though. Much like the Carta, nothing was _ever_ coincidence in Antiva. Reese hid her smirk with a twitch of her long, dark hair and swung her eyes back to Yvette.

Only to find the lackluster suitor standing there, looking lost and abandoned, but no Yvette.

 _Balls_.

Reese reached out calmly and wrapped her pink around Josie’s and squeezed. It was a signal they’d had for years, since she became Inquisitor. It meant ‘everything is fine, but I gotta go check something out.’

Josephine didn’t even look away, she just squeezed back in silent assent while the man on her right started to schmooze her. Which really meant it was the perfect time to leave, _before_ the ponce figured out the dwarf hiding behind her hair had one arm and could, quite realistically, be the former Inquisitor.

Thank the stone for Yvette providing an excellent excuse to vanish.

Reese scanned the crowd while she melded into it, training her ears toward the sound of Yvette’s voice. She was certainly being overprotective, the worst thing that would happen on these docks at this time of night was Yvette losing her purse to a canny pickpocket, but…

Yvette was family. Josie’s little sister. Reese had to make sure she was okay.

It took only a matter of moments for Reese’s paranoia to be proven correct.

“I will not!” Yvette’s scandalized tone drifted from the entrance of an alleyway. She must have been walking past it when the arm from deep within it’s shadows reached out to grab her. Surprise meant the person managed to pull Yvette half into the dingy darkness.

But, with a flush of pride, Reese realized that was all they’d managed to do because Yvette put her booted heel down and refused to budge. Despite the attacker’s iron grip, Yvette proved herself surprisingly scrappy. Of course, she hadn’t reached for the knife in her boot yet.

That would be because she was a Montiliyet, though. _Niceness before knives_.

“Let me go, _now_!” Yvette demanded. Reese slipped out of the shadows just under the woman’s arm and planted herself firmly in front of the man trying to abduct her.

“I think that was an order, sailor.” Reese whispered, tipping her head to the side.

Idiot. He smelled like he’d been soaking in a barrel of rum for days and had the deranged look of a gambler down to his last coppers. He released his hold on Yvette to stare down at the dwarf like he’d found her on the bottom of his shoe.

“Ain’t nobody askin’ for your help, duster.”

Reese ignored him. She’d faced more dangerous things in far nicer places, after all. Instead, she looked over her shoulder at Yvette. “You okay?”

The absolute _menace_ in the alley decided that was his chance. Before Yvette could answer, Reese felt the slight shift in their annoying interloper’s stance.

She swung into action in a heartbeat, catching the fist aimed at her jaw in her left hand with a grunt. The sailor’s eyes widened, but in his drunken stupidity, he decided to lash out with the other fist.

Well, there wasn’t a whole ton she could do about that. It connected with her jaw in a bright, eye watering burst of pain at the same time _she_ rammed her knee right into the sailor’s family jewels. He collapsed, his head cracking hard off the cobblestones before he stilled, and Reese turned, spitting out bright red blood.

“You’re hurt!” Yvette cried in indignation. “The _nerve_. I…”

“You’ll be taking responsibility for this when Josie gets here.”

That shut up Yvette long enough for Reese to tongue the gash inside her cheek from where her teeth slashed into tender skin. She probed it and tasted iron, shaking her head in distaste.

The commotion drew Josie even faster than Reese thought it would. One moment, Reese was staring down at the lout on the ground, the next she was yanked towards Josephine. Wide, worried eyes traced her form before landing on her swollen lip.

“I can explain, Josephine.” Yvette began.

“Please tell me you’re both okay.” Josephine produced a silk handkerchief from her sleeve and pressed it to Reese’s lip.

“I’m fine Josie.”

Reese’s soothing fell on deaf ears. Josephine was cool as a cucumber in a crisis, but the crisis was over, and Reese was hurt.

Josie had _never_ done well with Reese being hurt. Not since Haven. And then... watching the anchor implode at Halamshiral, almost taking Reese with it…

Josie never recovered. Reese couldn’t even stumble on a step without Josephine going into a tizzy.

“What are you _doing_?” Josephine didn’t draw herself up to her full height, one hand still gently cradling Reese’s face while her eyes focused on Yvette. “Sneaking off? It is _most_ -”

“I didn’t sneak off! I simply… needed a moment. Away. From him.”

“ _Yvette_.”

Reese leaned into Josie’s touch and closed her eyes, swallowing the blood in her mouth to not get the handkerchief dirty.

“It’s unfair, Josephine! _You_ picked who _you’re_ betrothed to!”

Reese’s eyes popped open. She didn’t hear that right. She couldn’t have heard that right.

“I would be _happy_ to allow you to pick but you _must_ try to meet-”

“Sorry. That sucker punch must have hit harder than I thought.” Reese interrupted, looking between both the humans. “Betrothed?”

Josephine was never speechless, but that simple question made her lips slam closed. It was Yvette that answered as if it was a silly thing to ask in the first place.

“Of course you are betrothed! Mother and father are _thrilled_ , although they do wish Josephine would plan the ceremony more quickly.”

 _Betrothed_.

“Yvette, if you’d please go pay our bill at the cafe.” Josephine asked stiffly, her fingers pulling away from Reese’s cheek. Quickly, Reese reached up to hold them fast. Yvette wisely retreated as the other two women stared at each other.

“Everyone has assumed.” Josephine began, her skin darkening. “I… perhaps I should have corrected them, but…”

“Would your family really want _you_ to marry _me_?”

“My family adores you. They would be _honored_. But you, of course, if you do not wish… we haven’t spoken of it.”

Reese tightened her grip on Josephine’s fingers, emotion thudding in her chest. For a shining moment, she could see the rest of her life. Free, roaming Josephine’s family estate, waking next to sun-kissed skin in bed, sharing kisses and plans and secrets…

“Well.” Reese smiled, tentative and unsure. “You better get started on that wedding.”

Josephine’s eyes filled with tears a second before she pulled Reese into her embrace, smothering her in silk. Reese, drowning in her beauty, couldn’t find it in her to complain.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Check out some other [Black Emporium 2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/BlackEmporium2020) fics and art while you're out and about!
> 
> I typically write dwarves. So many dwarves. Kinda lowkey obsessed with Varric Tethras. If any of that sounds like a good time, maybe consider my Tumblr [@cartadwarfwithaheartofgold](https://cartadwarfwithaheartofgold.tumblr.com/)


End file.
